Classes suspended for schools close to Camp Street Jail

Following the continued prison unrest in Georgetown the Education Ministry was this morning (Friday) forced to close several schools within that vicinity.

In a press statement the Education Ministry advised parents and guardians that they should to collect their children immediately.

Schools that were closed as of today, March 4, 2016 included Smyths Street Nursery, Smith Memorial Primary, St. Stephen’s Primary, Brickdam Secondary, and Central High Freeburg Secondary.

The prison unrest started Wednesday night when inmates set fire to a section of the jail at the Camp Street which later continued the following day. It was on Thursday that several other fires were lit as the protest escalated causing the death of seventeen prisoners and others suffering from minor burns and suffocation.

Yesterday’s fire took place at the Capitol “A” section where persons who are committed to stand trial and remanded to prison are usually held.

Authorities are closely monitoring the situation as the Guyana Police Force, Guyana Defense Force and Fire Service have been placed on standby in assisting Prison officials to control the situation.

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan has disclosed that the number of prisoners at the Camp Street is over nine hundred which is more than what the jail was designed to accommodate.